Chapter Text
Prologue: Awake.
You startled awake, sitting up abruptly, nearly headbutting Mammon in the process. He had been leaning over you and the proximity shocked you even more after that dream. Your hand came up defensively, palming his forehead and pushing him backwards as you stood. Mammon was the only one close enough to touch you.
Now you could see that he was behind the couch, saying "Hey!" as he ruffled his bangs back into place. A quick scan around the room tallied the other occupants, who were now all staring at you. Belphie and Levi were sitting at the table nearby and Asmo was across from you on the other couch... Your eyes lingered on Asmo as a flash of the dream bloomed in your mind. That lustful, yet threatening stare...
"MC, are you all right?" Asmodeus cocked his head slightly, concern creasing his otherwise flawless expression.
"Y-yes. Fine. Fine." You repeated, trying to convince yourself of the words. It was just a dream. Did you really want that? Or was the reality of this dangerous place finally seeping into your subconscious? It was easy to pretend that this was just like school, just like your life in the human world. Easy and necessary. If you dwell too long on the reality of living with demons... But oddly enough, life in the House of Lamentation had been as much fun as it was dangerous. You had made real friendships with these guys, hadn't you? And maybe even more... That mix of pleasure and fear... was that where the dream came from?
"Did you have a nightmare?" Belphie's calming voice pulled you back to the present.
"I... I'm not sure... Maybe? I can't quite recall now..." You knew that dreams faded quickly from the mind sometimes, and while this one wasn't going anywhere any time soon, they didn't need to know that.
"Was it something you ate? I've heard that bad food can cause nightmares." Beelzebub came into the room, drawn by the commotion of Mammon's shouting. He had heard Belphie's question and put the rest together.
When your eyes fell on him, a shiver slipped through you. Not enough to make your body shake, but just enough to remind you of the fear you had felt under the starving eyes of the dream-Beel. You had never really been afraid he would eat you, but...
"Maybe. I think I just need to go to my bed." You smiled a little bit too wide, and gathered your homework - the culprit of your impromptu nap, and hurried out of the room.
Behind you, the brothers all exchanged looks with each other.
"Humans are so weird." Mammon sighed, turning away, but still failing to hide how his eyes trailed after you.
"Do you think it was a nightmare?" Levi asked Belphie.
"Obviously. And not just any nightmare, it was about us." Belphie nodded, but his eyes didn't move from Beel, who was now watching the floor.
"Us?" Mammon turned back to Belphie.
"Yes. Although given everything they've been through here, it's not surprising." Belphegor was well acquainted with sleep in all its forms. He knew what restful sleep looked like, and your eyes moved too rapidly under their lids for that. And yet, it wasn't a violent nightmare either. He would have woken you up if he had sensed that, but clearly the dream had disturbed you enough to cause you to run out, giving Beel an unnecessarily wide berth.
"Ahhh! That's no good at all! MC should only have pleasant dreams, especially about me!" Asmodeus whined, crossing his arms and legs, as he replayed the wide-eyed stare you had given him. Asmodeus knew the precarious line between desire and fear, and as the Avatar of Lust, he walked it very carefully. Fear could be useful in arousal, but there was a tipping point that soured the whole experience. Mutual lust was the most powerful kind of lust, and the look you gave him didn't have nearly enough desire in it. He pouted, thinking it over and adding, "The rest of you are the nightmares."
"What?! You shut your face, pretty boy. If anyone is giving MC the best dreams, it's obviously going to be the Great Mammon, Avatar of Greed and second-" Mammon started to shout, but was quickly cut off by a pillow to the face.
"So what do we do? If they're afraid of us for whatever reason, what's the best course of action?" Levi held a second pillow in his hand, glaring momentarily at Mammon, before looking questioningly at Belphie. Levi didn't think it was smart to sleep out in the open like that anyway, and if a nightmare convinced you to keep to the safety of your room, all the better. But... he still didn't like the idea that he might've done something to scare you, even in a dream. If this were a manga, like the amazing I'm a Youthful Student Who Fell Asleep and Woke Up in an Alternate Reality and Need My Boyfriend to Come Fight His Dream Double to the Death, he could just jump into your dream and beat that Dream Levi up and rescue you. But reality was so much more complicated...
Although normally prone to louder outbursts when he was being ignored, Mammon waited, wanting to hear what Belphegor had to say. His head still buzzed with the touch of your hand, and the flash of fear he had caught in your eyes. There was plenty to be afraid of in the Devildom, but he didn't want to ever be one of the sources of your fear. He had been your first, and he wanted to always be the one you could call on no matter what was happening.
"That depends on what their dream was actually about. I doubt they'll tell us. What's important here is that we don't crowd around MC. That will just make things more uncomfortable." Belphie shrugged, his eyes lingering on Beel. The taller twin was frowning deeply. Beel had noticed the way you moved around him and Belphie had noticed the effect your skittishness had on him. Regardless of what the others did, Belphie would be talking to you privately soon. He wouldn't let a dream hurt either you or his brother.
Beel, for his part, was used to people being afraid of him. Just his height and size was enough to make the hardiest demon think twice. Add that to his reputation of being voraciously hungry at all times (not to mention being Lucifer's personal bodyguard), and he understood all too well why you would be afraid of him. He just thought that you had gotten to know him well enough by now that maybe you could trust him...?
No one would be getting restful sleep tonight.